Major supermarket cuts another 3,600 jobs as it slashes staff costs

Morrisons slashed more than 3,600 jobs last year as the embattled retailer turned a profit for the first time since its 2021 private equity takeover.

The group, which cut more than 8,800 jobs in 2023, saw its headcount fall from 104,819 to 101,144 in the 12 months to 27 October 2024, Companies House accounts published this week show.

Cost cutting efforts helped Morrisons swing to a pre-tax profit of £2.1billion for 2024, having suffered losses of £919million and £1.3billion in the previous two years respectively.

However, it saw group revenues slump from £18.3billion to £17billion for the year.

Morrisons’ market share has increasingly come under pressure from European discounters, with Lidl poised to take its spot as Britain’s fifth largest supermarket after double-digit growth in the second quarter.

The group has already lost its position as the fourth-biggest grocer in Britain to Aldi.

Boss Rami Baitieh is attempting to engineer a recovery at Morrisons, which was acquired by private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in a debt-fuelled £7billion deal in October 2021.

Job losses in the year to the end of October 2024 were compounded in March when Morrisons announced it cut more than 350 jobs across its cafes, convenience stores, florists and fresh food counters following the introduction of higher labour costs in last year’s Autumn Budget.

Morrisons is now alone among the supermarket sector in pushing ahead with staff cuts, with Aldi, Tesco and Sainsbury’s all announcing job losses since the Autumn Budget.

Mr Baitiéh – an ex air force colonel, dubbed ‘Mr Fixit’ – said in March: ‘The changes… are a necessary part of our plans to renew and reinvigorate Morrisons and enable us to focus our investment into the areas that customers really value and that can play a full part in our growth.’